January i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



595 



not suited for the European worm ; tait the Jr.pan oue, 

 I am certain, would i>iove a ?uccesH, but not in tlie 

 present way of roaring, for, if the eggs were kept in tlie 

 plains during the hot season, a very few years would so 

 degenerate them that they would become as bad as the 

 present little worm ; what they would require would 

 be, after the epriug crop, to send all the eggs up 

 to a cool climate, say Darjeeling, as done in the 

 Punjab and the Doon; but to do this would be a 

 hard task, and unless eome adventurous individuals 

 took to making their own mulberry plantations and 

 their own cocoons, it would be einiply useless; asno 

 one would expect the ryot would goto all this expense." 

 It is clear, therefore, that if Em'opeans do not take up 

 the euterprize of introducing and keeping up a stock 

 of supeiior worms, aud unless the Indian peasautiy can 

 be induced to spin the cocoons into thi'ead more care- 

 fully, the enterjirize must come to an end. It seems to 

 be at present kept alive only by the demand for floss silk 

 The great question as regards Ceylon is : — Ai'e oiu' labom'- 

 ing classes, who are lilcely to be employed in breeding the 

 worms and spinning the filatm-es of such a superior stamp, 

 physically aud intellectually to the WTetched Bengalees, 

 that real and steady good work can be expected from them ? 

 We should like to hear the experience ofFather PaUa 

 and others in this respect. 



FIBRES : A NEW INDUSTRY IN REUNION. 



A new industry {writes Consul Annesley, British 

 representative at Reunion) has quite lately sprung into 

 existence in this colony, the first impulse to which 

 was given by British firms or individuals from the 

 ni'ighbouring ishmd of Mauritius. I refer to the ex- 

 traction of the fibre from the "yucca," known in the 

 West Indies as "Adam's needle," and I believe im- 

 properly called an aloe. There are four species of this 

 plant, all of which grow here abundantly without cul- 

 tivation worthy of the name, the scientific denomina- 

 tions of which are : — 1, Agave Amerktma; 2. Agare 

 angmtifolia; 3, Foiircroija gigantea; 4, Fourcroya/cetkla. 

 The two last kinds have only hitherto been used for the 

 production of fibr-, but it is known that a much finer 

 fibre, although of shorter It-ngth, and consequently of 

 less marketable value, can be obtained from the Agave 

 Avgimtifolia. The Fourcroyie are believed to have been 

 introduced into Ksunion from Brazil about the middle 

 of last century. 



The production of this fibre promises to have. import- 

 ant results here, judging from the rapid developement 

 of tliis enterprise in Mauritius. At present the fibre 

 plantations and mills are wholly in the hands of Mauri- 

 tius British siibj.-cts ; but the C'reilit Foncier of Reunion 

 and several Creoles of the colony are beginning to 

 devcjte their attention to this profitable undertaking, 

 whieli they have so long neglected to turn to account, 

 and they are even now only stimulated to this new 

 source of commerce by the example set to them by 

 British enterprise. It is certaiul.v r.-markable that the 

 inhabitants of the island do not take advantage of this 

 industry, which can be carried on with eo little outlay. 



The number of mills actually at work is two (others 

 being in course of construction), capable of producing 

 about IJ ton of fibie per diem,, worth in london (for 

 fair averi'jse quality) about SSI. per ton, or, net about 

 30/. per ton. Manila hemp is worth about 10/. above 

 tliis value per ton, The cost of the production of the 



aloe fibre here is understood to be about 201. per ton. 



British Trade Journal. 



STINGIiNG-TREES. 



"The Stinging-Tree" of Queensland, Australia. —That 

 most interesting colony pos^eses at lea^t three per- 

 fectly distinct plants each fully deserving thai title. I 

 used for many years I o shoot in scrubs in both North aud 

 South Queensland, and during that time I was etung, 



not "only^ once, and that very lightly," like 

 " Traveller ", but , times without number, aud often 

 very severely ; but unlike him, I was never "warned 

 of Its close proximity by its .smell-" A friend of 

 mine, who has had considerable experience in Aus- 

 tralian scrubs, writes :— " The stinging-plants have no 

 notable smell, and certainly none that would attract 

 attention. The trees are usually isolated." I have 

 noticed that upon very close examinatiou, especially if 

 the leaves be bruised, a faint, unpleasant odour m,iy be 

 detected, but this is in no case sufficient to attract atten- 

 tion in a scrub. Again, the stinging-trees are always, 

 so far as my experience goes, more or less isolated, and 

 never form anything approaching to the " little 

 forest" mentioned by the "Traveller." Urtica incisa, 

 however, is said to cover almost completely one 

 island in the Fitzroy Kivtr, and grows in great 

 profusion in that neighbourhood, but it can never in 

 any sense of the word be called a tree. The sting 

 produces in most cases a small white mark, which 

 soon disappears, aud, if on the hand, the pain, which 

 is excruciating, gradually extends from tlie affected 

 spot up the arm, till it reaches the axilla, where it 

 often becomes very intense. Its duration varies from 

 half an hour to several hours, and even when the pain 

 has ceased, the slighest touch to the affected spot, or, 

 above all, the application of cold water, will renew the 

 pain. Laportea gigas, Laportea phothiiphylla, Laportea 

 ■moroides, which Bentham and Von Mueller place in 

 the genius Laportea, are by many botanists in- 

 cluded under Urtica. Of all the stinging-plants of 

 Queensland the virulence of which I have been so 

 unfortunate as to ascertain practically, Laportea mo- 

 roides surpasses the others, both in the severity of the 

 pain produced at the time and in the duration of its 

 effects. — Knoivledge. ' 



Beetroot. —The rapid progress of the beet-root indus- 

 try is likely, it seems, to produce a formidable rival to 

 Colonial sugar planters. In the German factories the 

 yield has risen to 10^ per cent of the root, and the cost 

 of German beet made in the best way is about 14s 9d 

 percwt. allowing for export duty, but without adding 

 anything for mauufauturer's profit. The cost of va- 

 cuum-pan West Indian sugar landed in England is 

 reclioned at ISs per owt. and with 2.T per cent, added 

 for planters profit, it could be sold at 16s 9d jjer cwt. 

 With the same percentage of profit, German sugar 

 could be sold for 22s 3d per cwt. "For a long time 

 to come there seems no possibility of vacuum-pan sugar 

 selling here (in England) at an average of less than 

 £25 per ton, and advanced planters have thus ample 

 time to make their fortunes, however clo-sely beet may 

 compete with them. As to the sug.ir-produciug capa- 

 bilities of the West Indies, they are obviously in their 

 infancy. The very mountainous island of \iauritius 

 with an area of 713 square miles makes 120,000 tons.' 

 The area of the West indies, excluding the Bahamasj 

 but includiug Tiinidad, is 7,412 miles, and if they 

 made proportionately as much sugar as Mauritius, 

 their produce would be 1,250,000 tons a year. Jamaica 

 with its area of 4, 193 square miles, could grow on the 

 Mauritian scale 500,000 tons of sugar; and Trinidad 

 with 1,754 miles, could produce 250,000 tons. The 

 entire exports of all the islands put together is' under 

 200,000 tons a year— a sufficient pronf of their back- 

 ward character, A profit of 12s per cwt. has as yet 

 been insufficient to induce more than say twenty 

 planters in the whole of the West Indian Ishinds to 

 adopt vacuum-pans and other modern raat:hiuery ; and 

 if this state of Ihings continues much locger, beet will 

 progress with giant strides, the f.abiicants will find 

 out how to make it fit for direct consumption, aud 

 the growers of the old-fashioned cane sugar will be 

 really ruined a,t hat."— Indigo Planters' Oazette. 



